Umbrella
by private investigator 726
Summary: Q is sick of 007 being careless with his equipment. And M can tell. But when she brings in a girl that could potentially help Q with his work, Q is skeptical about this idea. Little does he know that this girl is no ordinary agent. Q/OC (cover image from: aglassfullofhappiness dot tumblr)
1. Chapter 1: A Handful of an Agent

Q frowned as he stared at his computer. Totaling up the amount, he printed a small sheet of paper out. Surveying it carefully, he threw it on his desk in disgust.

"Three weeks since 007 has returned any of his equipment. Three weeks!" He ran his hands through his hair, exhausted of this predicament, this job, his life. Always undercover, always being secretive, never talking to anyone outside MI6. It was fun, at times, but sometimes it became too much to handle. Q glanced at the clock. 7: 23. He frowned and scribbled a note on the piece of paper as he grabbed his hat and coat.

_This is the list of equipment 007 has destroyed/not returned in the last 3 weeks exactly. Please send back word of how he chooses to repay his debt, if at all. I'm heading back to my flat, I don't feel well. If something urgent comes up, you know how to contact me._

_ -Q_

He read the note over and placed it on his desk. Straightening his glasses, he walked out of his office outside. A drop of rain hit the edge of his fedora. He sighed and put on his coat, grumbling.

"Rain. A perfect way to end a perfect day." He flipped up his collar and began walking to the train station. As he listened to the rain hit the pavement, he calmed down. He smiled as he felt a raindrop hit his nose. It was almost like when he was little and his parents turned on the sprinklers in the summer. He would run through the jets of water, shouting with delight at the cool water hitting his face. He closed his eyes for a moment and let the rain tap his face gently. He heard the sound of a footstep a few feet away. He opened his eyes and squinted through the semi-darkness. A young woman about his age was watching a little boy sit on a bench in the rain. He could barely see her appearance, as her entire body was shrouded in darkness. He watched silently as she waked carefully over to the little boy. She sat down next to him and spoke quietly. Q could hear her say,

"Where's your family?" The boy shrugged.

"Don't have any. I just wander around London and search for scraps to eat." The woman nodded.

"Are you cold?"

"I'm freezing, to be honest with you, Ma'am." The woman smiled and handed him her umbrella.

"I have another one at home. And you need it more than I do." The boy looked surprised.

"Thank you, Ma'am. Thanks very much!" The boy laughed and hopped around puddles, twirling his umbrella above his head happily. The woman watched him for a moment before running under a canopy to seek shelter from the rain that was starting to come down harder from the sky. He watched her walk towards the train station, flipping the collar of her thin coat up to protect herself from the rain. He walked after her, since it seemed they were heading towards the same bus stop. She stood underneath the tiny canopy above the bench at the bus stop, her long chocolate brown hair already soaked. He walked over and stood next to her, surveying her carefully as he spoke.

"I saw what you did there, giving that little boy your umbrella." She jumped, apparently unaware that he had been standing there. She edged away from him discreetly, smiling weakly.

"He needed it more than I did, that's for sure." Q smiled. _Smart girl. She knows not to associate with strangers. Especially men._

"You know, you won't ever get that back." The girl laughed at this comment.

"We're in London. Umbrellas are as cheap as possible here, since it rains so much." Q laughed along with her. The girl smiled and checked her watch. Q looked around for the bus.

"Well, I must get going, Sir. My ride was supposed to pick me up here at the bus stop, but he hasn't shown up, so I guess I'll walk." The girl stood to walk away, but Q stopped her. He took off his thick pea coat and helped her into it. Placing the fedora on her wet, brown hair, he smiled.

"My flat is right next to the bus stop I get off of. Besides, you need it much more than I do." The girl smiled and shook his hand.

"Thank you. I promise I'll return these to you." Q shrugged.

"That won't be necessary." She frowned.

"I'm still returning it." She smiled and waved as she walked off into the pouring rain. Q watched her go before sitting himself on the small bench, waiting for the bus that was clearly late.

Q sat at his office desk, reading a note M had left on his computer the night before.

_I have talked to 007 and he will repay you somehow. How, I don't know. I will leave it to him. I have found someone that may be able to help you in your work. Call it secretary's work if you like, but it will be more like an assistant's job. This person seems to be most adept in your field and could be useful to the Q-Branch, but if you don't like them, this person can be placed in another field, as this person is very talented in other "subjects" as well._

_ -M_

Q smacked his forehead. An assistant. That was the last thing he needed. A person bothering him for information, deadline issues and other useless information. He frowned and twirled a pen between his fingers as he pulled up a document on his laptop that contained minor ideas for new equipment for 007. Tapping the pen against his desk he sketched out a few ideas on a piece of paper. He though back to the girl at the bus stop. People rarely helped people they barely knew. He admired that a lot, the courage and kindness the girl must have possessed to give her clothes to a random child who needed it. He heard a knock on the door and looked up as the door opened. M was standing at the door with a young lady about his age at her side.

"Your new assistant, if you so desire." M nodded and left, closing the door behind her. The girl took off her fedora and smiled knowingly at Q. Her chocolate brown hair had been braided and her thick framed-glasses reflected the light from the lamp overhead. She took off her coat and draped it over the back of the chair in front of Q's desk.

"I told you I would return your things." Q looked slightly shocked, but composed himself quickly.

"So, you're going to work here?" She shrugged.

"If you approve of me working here, I will." Q nodded and gazed at her thoughtfully.

"You have a code name yet?" She shrugged and sat in the chair in front of his desk, picking some papers up and absentmindedly flipping through him.

"M didn't say anything about it." Q smiled at his computer screen.

"M never says much about anything, to tell the truth." The girl laughed and pulled a sheet from the stack.

"This idea isn't that bad. Maybe if you add a fingerprint recognition to it, it might work in the field." Q snatched the paper up and laughed as he threw it to the ground.

"This piece of crap? It doesn't work except in my mind." The girl tapped her chin and took a pen from his desk, lighting sketching over his design as she spoke.

"Portable radios work perfectly fine, but have you ever thought about how someone could get their hands on it and use it for distracting MI6? If you make this radio transmitter a lot smaller and add a fingerprint recognition device to it, it could potentially save us trouble of false signals from enemies." Q glanced at her sketches. They were decent and conveyed her ideas perfectly. He looked at the paper and nodded to himself, murmuring quietly,

"That works." He looked up at the girl, nodding curtly.

"You're in. I need to go talk to M. Stay here." The girl nodded and turned back to the sketches on his desk. He walked out the door and strolled toward M's office.

"Can I help you, Q?" Q nodded and leaned against the desk as he spoke.

"Where did you find that girl? She's a genius. Simple ideas, yet effective." M smiled tersely before turning to her computer.

"I can't say, her backstory is confidential. But if you want her on the Q-branch, she's in." Q nodded.

"She'll work." M smiled as Q walked out of her office. Q walked back to his office, head down as he thought to himself. Moneypenny bumped into him, papers flying. Q, startled, looked up. Moneypenny smiled at Q before bending down to pick up the papers. Q quickly knelt down next to her to pick up the fallen debris.

"So, the girl's in your unit?" Q nodded.

"Yeah, she's good." Moneypenny scoffed.

"She's beyond good! She was tested for field work and she could _shoot_ with a handgun. Hit the dead center of the target every time. She was perfect for field work. But you scored her." Moneypenny grinned.

"Good luck with her, Q. She's tough to handle." Moneypenny straightened and walked away. Q stood and walked to his office. Opening the door, he found the girl sitting at his desk on his computer, typing away.

"May I ask what you are doing on my computer at my desk?" The girl smiled and stood up.

"Just looking through some stuff." Q frowned and walked over to his computer, checking the previous history. It was blank. He sat down and checked the computer's hardware database. The history was also untouched. He gave the girl an odd look.

"You're a tricky one, aren't you?" She sat on the corner of the desk, examining her nails.

"Maybe." Q frowned, leaning back in his chair and surveying the girl.

"You know how to work a computer?" She smiled shrewdly, but shrugged. Q turned to his computer and typed calmly, turning the screen away from her. After a few minutes, he turned the screen back and nodded at the screen coolly.

"Fix it." She tilted her head as she stared at the screen. Pulling the keyboard into her lap, she began to type carefully, exploring the depths of the fake virus Q had planted in the computer. Q watched her carefully. She didn't dive headfirst into viruses like most people. She would poke through cautiously, then once she got familiar with the setting, she would then take a crack at breaking the codes. He watched her for a few minutes. She turned to him.

"Done." Q turned the computer screen to himself and examined the "debris" of her mission.

"Not bad. You're pretty good, since you take it slow and steady before diving in to fix the problem. That helps you avoid surprised attacks and viruses attaching themselves and spreading. The only problems are your time and your format. It took you awhile to solve this and this is nothing compared to what we may face in the future. And your methods of solving this viral problem are very old-fashioned. We have a lot of work to do." The girl smiled.

"I can't wait to get started." Q nodded.

"But we need to organize your files, give you a code name and fill out paperwork giving you authorization to off-limit areas in the city. I'll work with M on it tonight and when you come tomorrow, you can fill out the remaining sections and we'll discuss your job paraphernalia in the morning. Agreed?" The girl nodded, and shook his hand, smiling.

"Agreed." She walked out the door of his office, letting the door snap shut behind her. Q ran his hand through his hair and sank in his seat.

_This agent was going to be a handful._


	2. Chapter 2: Equal Match

Q strolled into his office and plopped himself at his desk nonchalantly, tapping the side of his desk with his finger. He felt odd. As if something was different in his office. But everything looked the same. He pulled his laptop from his briefcase and opened it, his mind curious. Since he was the only one at work right now, might as well do some research on the new addition to the Q-Branch. He pulled up the files on all agents and looked at the newest additions. He scrutinized his options carefully, then picked the file with the highest level of security. Quickly hacking in, he opened the first document in the file.

"No looking. How would you like it if I hacked into your files?" A hand appeared from nowhere and closed the laptop before Q could begin reading. He turned and saw that the newest addition to the office was standing behind him, an unreadable expression on her face.

"I have every right to know your name and backstory." Q stood from his chair, accenting his height compared to hers. He was least a few inches taller than her.

"Fair enough. But I also have every right to know _your_ name and backstory as well." She studied Q carefully as she circled around him.

"Well, to put it lightly, I outrank you." Q stood stiffly and stared straight ahead. She smiled, now standing on the opposite side of the desk. Q turned toward her, his green eyes calculating.

"Well, then. I'm outmatched. Look at my files, they are now to be used at your discretion." She straightened up and turned as if to walk out of the door. Q's hands strayed toward his laptop, but he stopped himself. He looked up and saw that his "secretary" was leaning against the doorframe, regarding him casually.

"You have the files. Isn't that what you wanted?"

"I thought it was what I wanted, but now I know it isn't." Q let his hand stray away from the laptop. She raised her eyebrows mockingly.

"Oh? What caused you to change your mind so suddenly?" She strolled to the armchair in front of his desk and calmly sat, immediately exposing a more symbolic meaning in the simple gesture. Q realized she was acknowledging the fact that Q was much more powerful than she was. And yet she was exposing herself to the danger of challenging her superior.

"You clearly didn't want me to see these files and yet you have now given me full control over them to the point where I can do whatever I please with them. Nobody would throw their life story away so quickly, especially something they've already proven to be personal to them." Q frowned, picking up a pencil and twirling it between his fingers as he regarded her coolly.

"You're right. And that's exactly why I'm giving you access to those files. Because it toys with your mind. You want to know, but you have a gentlemanly part of you that refuses to look into my private life to save my pride. If I try to hide it from you, it becomes a game where you are in control. I would be playing defense. But if I don't hide it at all, it becomes a game for me. To see how long it takes for curiosity to gnaw at you until you decide to look. And then how long it takes for guilt to consume you afterwards." She leaned back in her chair calmly, taking in Q's indecipherable expression.

"This speech seems quite cynical for a person who handed an orphan their umbrella out of sheer kindness."

"True. But we all have sides of our personality that we don't show, don't we?" Q nodded.

"Yes. There's also another reason I will choose not to open your files."

"Do tell." She leaned forward in her chair, fingers steepled under her chin.

"If I did read it, I know that it would tell me nothing of interest."

"My name?"

"Names. Merely sounds used to distinguish ourselves." Q scoffed. "No… if I truly wanted to know who you are, you are the only person who could fulfill my curiosity on that matter. And I can only have my curiosity fulfilled by-"

"-gaining my trust, yes." She stood, nodding at Q.

"How am I doing?" Q stepped from behind his desk and opened the door for her as she prepared to walk out.

"Well, let's put it this way. By tearing down my last shred of pride and self-dignity, you have earned a sliver of my trust. Good day, sir." And with that, she slipped out of his office.

Xxxx

M dropped a thick manila folder on Q's desk, tapping it impatiently.

"I've been thinking…"

"As have I…" Q replied without looking up. M gave him a withering look.

"I think this girl should work with you directly. She's shown the skillset-"

"You think what?!" Q's head snapped up, his pen falling to the floor.

"I. Think. She. Should. Work. Directly. With. You. As I was saying, she has shown the skillset and she is perfectly capable of working alongside with you. She could be an understudy of sorts, if you want to call it that. What do you think?" M looked at him curiously.

"Fine with me. I presume these are her "application" forms for being my understudy?" Q ran his fingers through his hair as he picked up the folder. M nodded.

"See that it gets to me no later than 4:00." M nodded curtly and strolled out of Q's office. Q sighed and followed M out, pulling aside one of the pagers passing by.

"Get me the new girl, would you?" The man nodded and strode off at a brisk pace. Q reentered his office and sat in his chair, fingering the handle of his mug. 2 minutes later, she burst into his office, her cheeks pink and her hair falling out of its previously tidy braid.

"You called?"

"Yes and you ran. Why? There was no hurry." Q looked at her curiously as she leaned against the wall, pouting.

"Well you didn't tell the pager that. He came up to me and said, 'Q would like to see you.' How was I to know there was no hurry? I ran here all the way from the shooting range." She frowned as she sat in the chair in front of his desk. Q smirked. She had run a long way. The shooting range was on the other side of the complex.

"Application documents, if you will." Q pushed the folder across the desk to her. She picked it up and tossed it from hand to hand, her expression slightly confused.

"I thought I had the job."

"You have been accepted to the general job. Your specific job requires you to fill out these forms, even though the spot is already guaranteed for you. M and I felt that this would be the best option for you, since your skillset seemed to lead us to that conclusion. Have this folder back before 4:00." Q turned back to his laptop casually.

"And whose idea was this? Giving me this understudy-type job because of my 'skillset'? Q looked up and saw that she was smiling innocently.

"None of your business." Q gave a small smile before turning back to his computer.

"I'll bet it was your idea." She propped her elbows against his desk, her green eyes betraying her curiosity. Q swatted at her elbows, causing her to lose her balance and fall backwards. Q grabbed her wrist quickly, steadying her.

"See? You almost made me die, it had to be your idea for me to be your understudy. You're just sore that I found out." She stood up and stuck her tongue out childishly.

"Get out!" Q laughed quietly as she scowled.

"Alright, I'll get out. The folder will be done by the time you finish your lunch break." And with that she was gone. Q rolled his eyes as he glanced at clock on his laptop. Nobody could finish that stack of documents in that short amount of time. But sure enough, as Q sat at his desk at exactly 12:37 with his lunch in hand, he realized the stack of application documents was completed. He picked up the folder and pulled out the documents carefully. Every single piece of paper was filled with her somewhat neat scrawl. As he shoved the stack of papers back in the folder, a small paper fell to the floor. Q picked it up and turned it over, noting it was her handwriting before reading. It contained 4 words.

_I told you so._

Xxxx

The nice thing about being Quartermaster was he had some flexibility in his hours. Q didn't leave work early that often, but sometimes, his brain would be so rattled after so long at MI6 that an early end to his day would be welcomed with open arms. Q packed his bags at 4:03 and locked his office door carefully. He was followed out of the building by 007 himself. Q turned to face him, arms crossed defensively.

"Problem, 007?"

"None. But you look stressed."

"Does it really show?" Q frowned and ran his hand through his hair wearily.

"Yes, but that's only because I've known you for so long." Bond shrugged and leaned against the wall nonchalantly.

"So, now you're going to ask what's wrong, aren't you?"

"Apparently yes, since you have already predicted so. What's wrong?" Bond smirked at the irony of it all. Q entered Bond's car and closed the door, tapping his fingers against the dashboard irritatedly.

"My new 'secretary'. She's bloody brilliant, but she can change her personality so quickly. Not bipolar-wise, but one minute she'll be handing an orphan her umbrella when it's pouring buckets and she still has at least a 2 mile walk to her flat and then, less than 12 hours later, she's toying with my mind and then another hour later she's teasing me like a younger sister would tease her older brother. I don't even know her name!" Q frowned as he gazed out of the car window.

"Finally found an equal match, eh?" Bond grinned as Q crossed his arms over his chest defensively and huffed impatiently. The car soon screeched to a halt in front of Q's flat. Q nodded his thanks and got out of the car, sprinting to the front door and managing to dodge the downpour of rain that appeared moments later. Q hopped the stairs (two at a time) and unlocked his flat door, quickly disarming all the security alarms he had placed. After resetting the alarms and locking his door, he placed his briefcase on the couch and loosened his tie, sighing in relief. He needed a break. Work was becoming a _little_ too stressful. Q pulled out a kettle and as he waited for the water to boil, shed his windbreaker and blazer. He pulled a tea bag from the box underneath the counter and once he had finished the process, settled on the couch with his laptop in one hand and a mug of Earl Grey in the other. He checked his email, but nothing of interest showed. Sighing, Q got up from his position on his couch and inserted a disk into his DVD player. Watching television wasn't something he truly enjoyed, but when it came to _Doctor Who_, he could sit for hours watching that show. And he knew that if he felt miserable and wanted someone he could relate to comfort him, he could always count on the 11th Doctor. So, as Q's evening passed by, he watched _Doctor Who_, drank a few cups of Earl Grey and thought of his new addition to the Q-Branch. And a few miles away, the girl he thought about sat curled up in her armchair, drinking hot chocolate and reading _Pride and Prejudice_, thinking about the man who had hired her for a job she had never dreamed of getting.


	3. Chapter 3: Break-in

Q stepped into his office and threw his coat over the back of the chair that sat in front of his desk. It was going to be a long day. He had a meeting with M on his "understudy's" application forms, another meeting with his fellow technicians to discuss some new ideas for weapons, since 007 had exhausted all his ideas and a million other things he didn't particularly want to think about. Q sat down and quickly pulled up his email. Leaning back in his chair, he sighed. _Inbox (379)_. As much as that number bothered and reminded him of his procrastination, he ignored it. His meeting with M was in 10 minutes and he needed some quiet time to think before he started talking. Q shut his laptop and slipped out of his office, his mind heavy. Was she really prepared to become his understudy? Hell, was he even prepared to _have_ an understudy? Yes, he was knee-deep in work and yes, he needed some help. He needed a fresh view on things here at MI6 because, truth be told, it seemed as though nothing was actually getting done these days. Q opened the door to the meeting room M had chosen. He sat in the seat farthest from the door and folded his hands together, thinking hard. He needed to have a firm grasp of the obvious. He was getting an understudy, whether he liked it or not. Q paused for a moment, letting it sink in Now that that had been established, what on earth did people do with an understudy? Q pondered this. So deep was he in thought that he barely noticed M entering the room. She sat across from him and placed the manila folder full of his understudy's application forms on the table. Q looked up.

"Did you find the forms satisfactory?" Q nudged the envelope with his finger.

"Quite. How do you feel about her?" M leaned forward, gauging Q's reaction.

"Well, she is well-suited for this job. I can safely say this is most likely the best place for her at the moment." Q steepled his fingers under his chin, regarding the envelope carefully. M nodded.

"I know what you mean. She's a tricky one." M opened the folder and pulled out a few forms.

"See? She left every section where her name was required blank. And every place where her signature was required was merely signed with an X." M held out the forms. Q took them and regarded them cautiously. He chuckled softly, sliding the forms back to M.

"Clever girl. I think that action has just cemented her position with me." M nodded, no questions asked.

"Next step. Code name? She had no preferences. She said, and I quote, 'Anything that you deem best'." Q stared at the table for a minute.

"What were you thinking, in terms of letters?"

"I actually thought the letter that suited her best would be-"

"A." Q finished.

"Yes. She seemed like a person who's name would begin with an A. A for astute." Q smiled at this comment.

"Very much so. Anything else you wish to bring up?" Q inquired.

"Nothing. It's all yours from here." M said quietly. Q nodded at her and left the room, his head spinning. _ Cool it, one thing at a time. We'll think about A later. For now, technicians meeting. Technicians meeting first. _ Q stepped into his office, grabbed his computer and strolled to the meeting room where he sat at the head of the table, waiting for the technicians to arrive. They slowly trickled in and 10 minutes later, everyone was present. Q quietly stood.

"Now that we are settled, we can discuss the matter at hand. Bond." A slight groan ran though the room.

"Bond has destroyed almost every single piece of equipment I have handed him and, needless to say, I'm running out of ideas for new machinery." Everyone nodded and got to work, some technicians pulling out paper to take notes, some bee lining to the whiteboard to sketch out ideas, some pulling out their laptops and showing Q their ideas. And at least an hour later, the whiteboard was covered with a good half a dozen diagrams and sketches of potential tools, papers with notes covering them were stacked haphazardly on the table, and many technicians had removed their jackets and loosened their ties (the male entities, at least). Q nodded, satisfied with the progress they had made. He turned to everyone.

"That is excellent work there. I appreciate you coming here to help me with this and if you don't mind, I will probably call you back here for some more ideas fairly soon…" A faint laugh ran through the room. It ceased, however, as a tentative hand was raised. Q turned to the technician whose hand was in question.

"Yes?" Q raised his eyebrow questioningly. The man gestured to Q frantically. Q strolled to the man's side and glanced at his computer screen. The entire screen was red, with only the words _CODE RED BREAK-IN_ showing. Q's eyes widened.

"Shit." He ran to his laptop and typed frantically. He looked up, his face stony.

"Get your databases in lock-down mode, _now_! And go help everyone else, we need all the help we can get." Q shut his laptop with a snap, grabbed it and sprinted to his office. He was stupid, he let his guard down, he was being careless, getting caught up in his thoughts and ideas. He entered the computer lab next to his office. It was utter chaos, people running around, shouting instructions at each other. But there was a group of people working very intently on their computers, and another group of people seemed to be listening to someone talking. Q approached the group quickly, listening.

"…and if Mina locks down Level 5 computers, we should be able to get rid of the bugger. You got that?" The group nodded and dispersed, but one man remained stubbornly in his seat.

"You got authorization from the Quartermaster to do this?" He crossed his arms over his chest.

"No, because Q is occupied in a technicians meeting 2 floors down."

"Well, if you've got no direct instructions, I'm not listening." He stared at A defiantly. A pinched the bridge of her nose, irritated.

"Listen, Straus, if you don't listen, the hacker is going to have the security down in 30 seconds flat. Just do it and you can gripe all you want to the Quartermaster later. Just help hold the security up until we can get stabilized. That's it." A looked at the man pleadingly. He shook his head obstinately. A tossed her hair over her shoulder. Q stepped up behind the man and knelt down so that his mouth was next to the man's ear.

"The Quartermaster has arrived and I approve everything she has said. Now get to your task before I do it myself." The man leapt to his feet and nodded at Q before he rushed off. Q turned to A.

"What happened?" Q sat on the edge of the desk, opening his laptop and observing the stream of codes that flashed before his eyes, each symbol distancing the hacker from his destination. The technicians clearly had it under control now.

"I got here and was waiting in your office because M told me to and I caught a glimpse of your schedule that you left on your desk, so I knew I wouldn't see you for a while. I had opened my laptop and I was observing the general stream of what everyone else was doing when I saw someone had somehow slipped past security. I approached Mina and asked her if that was something they had already caught and she started to panic. And then the alarm started blaring and everyone just… lost it. Everyone was running around, trying to lockdown their own computer and fight back, but the hacker was just slipping by so I just literally shouted at everyone to calm down and I set a group of technicians to lockdown all computers by level and the other group I set on baring the entrance to the hacker." A shrugged and sat in the chair that Straus had vacated, looking at Q carefully.

"How did I do?" A looked slightly troubled as she asked.

"Top notch job, as a matter of fact. You handled yourself quite well, for your first time." Q smiled reassuringly at her as he stood and put his hand on her back, gently leading her to his office. Once they were in, he closed the door and gestured for A to sit. He walked behind his desk and set his laptop down, looking at her carefully.

"You did quite well in that situation. I hope you derived some sense of satisfaction from it because you may be doing it many more times. I have spoken with M and you are cleared for official work here at MI6, although I see you have already taken advantage of that while I was gone." A had the decency to let herself blush.

"You are now officially my understudy, although I will most likely never use that term again. You will be helping me with my work and I, in turn, will teach you all that I can, in hopes that you may be an independent entity in the near future. Welcome to life at MI6…A." Q held his hand out and A took it, smiling mischievously.

"Q."

Xxxx

Q snapped his laptop shut and rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hand. The day had been quite uneventful after the security breakthrough, but that didn't mean it was any less tiring. Meeting after meeting and then checkups on the security to see there were no reoccurrences and then it was suddenly 8:34 and he was hungry. Q shoved some files and his laptop in his briefcase, threw his jacket on and slipped out of his office, locking the door behind him. As he turned to the door, he noticed someone sitting at their desk. He sighed.

"Naomi, go home." He turned to the door.

"She did." A rose from the seat, her bag slung over her shoulder and a book in her hand. Q didn't have the energy to look surprised. She walked over to Q and held the door open for him. Q nodded wearily and trudged past her. They walked to the door of MI6 in silence.

"Why were you in Naomi's seat?" Q turned to A, his face curious.

"Because I needed to work, and you would've shooed me home. And Naomi's desk happened to be farthest away from your office. Out of sight, out of mind." A shrugged. Q nodded thoughtfully as they strolled out of MI6.

"What were you working on? I haven't assigned you anything," Q inquired as they walked side by side, his briefcase bumping against her hip occasionally.

"I have a life beyond work, you know." A smiled at the ground.

"And what could you possibly be doing that doesn't involve work?" Q poked her in the side playfully. A jumped away, clutching her side as she let out a breathless laugh.

"Not there, I'm ticklish." Q raised his eyebrows, a mischievous expression on his face.

"Alright, I'll remember that for future reference when I need to blackmail you." He turned and continued walking, A running to catch up with him.

Well, since you know something about me you can use for blackmail information in the future, you have to tell me something of the same worth." Her voice was light and teasing as she glanced at Q. He thought for a moment, tapping his chin.

"I hate coffee, I only drink it stay awake. I personally prefer Earl Grey." Q shrugged. A pouted.

"That's not blackmail information, merely small talk."

"Then what do you suggest?" Q said, stopping and leaning against a lamp post.

"Hmm… any phobias?" Q shook his head.

"What's your worst fear?" A looked curious. Q smiled and leaned close to her.

"I fear…nothing. I have seen too much for someone my age to truly fear anything. I have nothing I care about, nothing worth losing." He pulled away, watching her from his position next to the post.

"Well, even though that sounds plausible, I'm going to ignore it because I think your lying." A smiled innocently tapping his shoulder.

"I think that you do have a fear of something, you just don't know."

"Oh?" Q smiled calmly, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Oh." A nodded seriously. And nothing more was said on the subject.


End file.
